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Law Practice Management Committee

Co-Chairs:

Jon A. Dorf, Esq.

John R. McCarron Jr, Esq.

Carol Greenwald (Honorary)

The Law Practice Management Committe has planned an ambitious year of events and educational programs to emphasize the need for education in the area of technology and how it is shaping the future of the legal profession in a critical way.

·May a lawyer use an online system to store a client's confidential information without violating the duty of confidentiality or any other duty?

·If so, what steps should the lawyer take to ensure that the information is sufficiently secure?

The Opinion cited Rule 1.6 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct that covers confidentiality, as well as Rule 1.0(j) that covers informed consent from clients in reaching the following conclusion:

"A lawyer may use an online data storage system to store and back up client confidential information provided that the lawyer takes reasonable care to ensure that confidentiality is maintained in a manner consistent with the lawyer’s obligations under Rule 1.6. A lawyer using an online storage provider should take reasonable care to protect confidential information, and should exercise reasonable care to prevent others whose services are utilized by the lawyer from disclosing or using confidential information of a client. In addition, the lawyer should stay abreast of technological advances to ensure that the storage system remains sufficiently advanced to protect the client’s information, and the lawyer should monitor the changing law of privilege to ensure that storing information in the 'cloud' will not waive or jeopardize any privilege protecting the information." To read the full opinion please click here